Dolphins
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in seventeen genera. They vary in size from 1.2 m (4 ft) and 40 kg (90 lb) (Maui's Dolphin), up to 9.5 m (30 ft) and 10 tonnes (9.8 LT; 11 ST) (the Orca or Killer Whale). They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating fish and squid. The family Delphinidae is the largest in the Cetacean order, and relatively recent: dolphins evolved about ten million years ago, during the Miocene. Dolphins are among the most intelligent animals and their often friendly appearance and seemingly playful attitude have made them popular in human culture. In the continuity of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series of novels by Douglas Adams, dolphins are regarded as the most intelligent creatures on the planet. When the planet Earth was demolished to make way for a hyperspatial express route, the remaining dolphin population left the planet, leaving behind a simple salutation, "So long, and thanks for all the fish". This phrase was also used as the title in the fourth novel in the book series. One particular dolphin named Darwin was a key figure in the 1993-1996 television series SeaQuest DSV. Darwin was a highly intelligent dolphin who lived aboard the titular deep-sea vessel SeaQuest while under the command of Captain Nathan Bridger. The submarine was outfitted with a series of transit tubes all throughout the ship that allowed Darwin to swim freely. The tubes fed into a moon pool on the bridge of the ship, enabling Darwin to interact with Captain Bridger. Darwin was featured in the first two seasons of the series, but did not appear in season three when the show was retooled under the name SeaQuest 2032. Darwin was outfitted with a vocorder that allowed him to communicate verbally with Captain Bridger, translating his whistles and clicks into English. In DC Comics, there exists a special breed of dolphin informally referred to as a "Space Dolphin". Space Dolphins are an alien race of creature, whose origins are largely unknown. In appearance and function, they are very similar to bottlenose dolphins from the planet Earth, but these dolphins possess extra dense skin tissue which enables them to survive the rigors of outer space. Space Dolphins are even more intelligent than Earth dolphins and they have developed the means to communicate with one another via telepathy. Space Dolphins are the beloved pets of the intergalactic bounty hunter, Lobo. For reasons unknown, their presence appears to calm Lobo's otherwise violent nature. In truth, they are the only animals in the universe that Lobo won't actively attempt to kill, eat or copulate with (not necessarily in that order, either). Some space dolphins have occasionally migrated to Earth and have seeded themselves within the aquatic dolphin community. One of Lobo's space dolphins even befriended the friendly bottlenose, Porm, surrogate mother to the Atlantean hero, Aquaman. Aquaman, Volume 5 #3 Another space dolphin from Sector 3500 named Fishy served as Lobo's assistant during a time when he had declared himself the Archbishop of the First Celestial Church of the Triple Fish-God. 52 #19 A dolphin of lesser reknown in the Aquaman family of titles is Kelt. Kelt was a dolphin that lived in the undersea kingdom of Atlantis and habitated near the capital city of Poseidonis. When the city began rising to the surface of the ocean as a result of being grounded to an alien space vessel, a young woman whose name happened to be Dolphin swamp out to the perimeter of the area to take it all in. Kelt swam up to her, indicating that it knew all along about the mysterious rock-covered vessel, and Dolphin asked him why he never mentioned it to anyone. Kelt replied, "No one ever asked", then quickly changed the subject, informing Dolphin that he also knew of the secrets she had been keeping from Aquaman. Aquaman, Volume 5 #16 References